The USMNT Blanked Canada 2-0 To Capture Its Second Straight CONCACAF Nations League Title

 

    After all of the on-the-field and off-the-field drama for the US men's national team on Thursday, tonight was back to a more routine kind of match and result as they did what they always do on home soil: they beat Canada 2-0 to win the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Final at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Despite the sorry state of the Mexican national team at the moment (they squeaked by Panama 1-0 in the third-place game earlier today), their matches vs. the United States will always be more highly-charged than when the USMNT plays Canada (this ain't hockey). Of course, a title is always nice particularly to start what should be a fun summer for the USMNT and the USWNT-the Women's World Cup starts in a month in Australia and New Zealand as the Americans vie for their third straight crown. 

    Displaying a scoring punch that was severely lacking at the 2022 World Cup, the US struck for a pair of goals in the first half this evening that left Canada stunned and they ultimately never recovered from it. The first was from defender Chris Richards who headed in a corner kick by midfielder Gio Reyna in the 12th minute. Richards plays at Crystal Palace in the Premier League but I have to admit that after he scored, I wondered aloud for a few moments "who is that?" For good reason since it was his first career goal for the USMNT and truth be told, it was one that Canada's goalkeeper the immortal Milan Borjan should have stopped. The header was not that powerful and it did not go into a top corner of the net, instead it somehow went comically under a diving Borjan. 

    Haters will knock that first US goal (and rightfully so) but the second was all class as our new striker/savior 21-year-old Folarin Balogun took a nifty pass from Reyna, shielded his defender and buried a one-time shot with power and accuracy in the 34th minute. He made his debut on Thursday for the US and this goal should only fuel the hype for what I'm predicting could be the best goal-scorer that we have ever produced. Needless to say that the USMNT rarely ever scored goals that looked like that but if Thursday and today were any indication, we should expect many more highlight reel strikes before long. Canada trailed 2-0 at halftime and despite a misleading 64%-36% advantage in possession, the impotent Canadian attack could only muster four shots on goal and goalkeeper Matt Turner stopped all of them for his second shutout in a row. 

    After some well-deserved partying in Vegas (what a place to win the CONCACAF Nations League!), the team will mostly go home to rest for their upcoming club seasons or take a vacation to get away from soccer for a bit. There is only a handful of guys that will be competing for the US in the Gold Cup which starts for them next Saturday night (9:30, FS1) in Chicago against Jamaica. The Gold Cup is usually a welcome diversion in the dog days of summer sports but keep in mind if you tune in that you will not be seeing most of the top American players other than Turner who needs all the playing time that he can get after being the backup for almost every Arsenal match in 2022-23. This is a squad that is MLS-heavy since that league is currently in season while all the European leagues are on summer break. Also, the US will look to defend their Gold Cup championship as they won the last competition in 2021. 

What Should Have Been A Great Night For The USMNT Is Overshadowed By More Silly Drama

 

    On the surface, tonight was a fabulous result for the U.S. men's soccer team as they thrashed their biggest rival Mexico 3-0 in the CONCACAF Nations League Semifinals on Thursday night at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The Americans extended their unbeaten streak vs. the Mexicans to six games (4-0-2). United States captain and midfielder Christian Pulisic scored twice, striker Ricardo Pepi added the other goal as a substitute and goalkeeper Matt Turner only had to make one save as the U.S. dominated Mexico to reach the Final on Sunday night (9, Paramount Plus & Univision) against Canada who earlier had blanked Panama 2-0. Unfortunately, the match will be remembered as much for its ugliness on the field (13 combined cards including two guys that received reds on each side) as well as off (anti-gay chants from idiot Mexican fans who also pelted the field with trash) which forced the referees to end it early in stoppage time when everything became too much to handle. Oh and a bombshell came out during the proceedings that after six-plus months of searching for a head coach, the U.S. men's soccer team is going to reappoint Gregg Berhalter in charge. You have got to be kidding me!

    The whole bizarre situation left U.S. legend Clint Dempsey stunned at halftime, wondering why they had wasted so much time simply to go back to where they started with Berhalter. Indeed, since they were badly outclassed 3-1 vs. Netherlands in the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup on December 3, the U.S. men's national team has been beset by drama involving Berhalter and the Reynas. It felt like a no-brainer to get someone from the outside to bring some fresh ideas and a new perspective to a group that on paper is far more talented than any team that they have ever had in their history. As recently as earlier this week, we heard that former Arsenal and French star Patrick Vieira (who coached at Crystal Palace in the Premier League and NYCFC in MLS) was interested in the job. I cannot say that he is an outstanding coach from what we've seen early in that side of his career but at least he is a big name in soccer and a non-American who has played and coached at the highest level. Nope, instead we are going back to a guy that is best suited to be a coach in MLS or Mexico (there was a rumor earlier this week that Berhalter turned down a coaching opportunity with Club America). Ugh. I guess we should have seen this coming though since the breadcrumbs were there for a Berhalter return with some of the USMNT's best players like Pulisic and midfielder Timothy Weah publicly pledging their support to him lately which seemed odd at the time. 

    Back to the game which was all about Pulisic. In the first half, he had a wonderful chance as he dribbled around Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa only to put the not that difficult shot over the net. Christian was stunned as he lay on the ground for an extended period of time in disbelief. Thankfully, he shook that off as he pounced on a loose ball in the Mexican box and finished a pretty left footed shot in the 37th minute for a 1-0 U.S. lead. Less than two minutes into the second half it was 2-0 U.S. (Dos A Cero!) as Pulisic buried a perfect cross from Weah. Striker Folarin Balogun's much-anticipated debut for the USMNT could have ended on an ugly note as Mexico's goon defender Cesar Montes chopped him down in the 69th minute with a brutal trip that rightfully resulted in a red card. Sadly, American midfielder Weston McKennie got drawn into the scrum and ended up with a red card of his own a few moments later. Balogun survived and the U.S. extended the beating as Pepi entered in the 75th minute and scored the final goal three minutes later after a pinpoint feed from defender Sergino Dest (who received a red card of his own in the 85th minute).

    It has a long way to go to match the intensity or history of U.S. vs. Mexico but I will submit my prediction that over the next few years, the U.S. vs. Canada should become much more of a rivalry since the Canadians are better than they have ever been with legitimate stars like striker Jonathan David (Lyon with Weah) and midfielder Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich)-who scored both of their goals vs. Panama-who compete at top European clubs. Conversely, Mexico is in shambles (which I almost feel badly about, well not really) with few stars left on its roster these days. It sounds like Berhalter will be re-introduced (oh joy) on Friday but at least Sunday night should be fun as the U.S. men go for another CONCACAF Nations League title. It is a bummer than McKennie and Dest will miss the match because of those stupid red cards but that will give other guys like Balogun and midfielder Gio Reyna (sporting his fresh new Eminem-esque blonde hair)-who didn't do much against Mexico-a chance to really shine on Father's Day evening in Vegas along with Pulisic.